


Cohabitation

by mewgirl1995



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 03:03:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewgirl1995/pseuds/mewgirl1995
Summary: After Jian-Yang throws Richard, Dinesh, and Gilfoyle out, they are forced to go to their one friend who still has a home. In the meantime, Richard has to face the reality that Jared loves him.





	Cohabitation

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when my husband shows me his favorite show. Enjoy, everyone.

It was impossible to fit everything they owned into their cars, especially since the "frunk" of Dinesh's Tesla was smashed to pieces. They recovered the essentials off the lawn and then began the drive of shame to the first place Richard thought of. The three of them waited outside the door, Richard rocking nervously back and forth.

"This is the most embarrassing thing we have ever done," Dinesh said, muttering under his breath. "I'd rather sleep on the street."

"Shut up," Richard snapped at him right before the door opened.

Still looking somewhat sleep deprived, Jared blinked at the three of them. He rubbed his eyes and then smiled. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Before Richard could stutter out an ashamed response, Gilfoyle practically shoved past Jared and walked into the condo. "Jian-Yang kicked us out. We're crashing here until we can find somewhere else."

"Oh, of course you can stay with me," Jared said as his eyes softened. "I would never expect you to have to sleep out on the streets. It's cold and dirty and there's far too many stray cats that will try to steal your dinner."

Putting Jared's dark childhood aside, Richard didn't want to have to endure his look of pity, so he ducked his head, muttering his thanks as both he and Dinesh followed Gilfoyle inside.

Before Richard could speak up, Gilfoyle darted towards the hallway. "Guest room's mine."

"You son of a bitch," Dinesh said before quickly tossing his things on the couch. "Fine, I'm taking the couch then."

"So the guy with dozens of painful lacerations has to sleep on the floor, then?" Richard said with an irritated shake of his head. "Thanks, guys."

"We didn't throw you through the glass wall of your office," Dinesh said with a shrug. "That's your fault."

About to snap in anger, Richard paused as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He glanced back and met Jared's smile. "You can sleep in my bed, Richard. It's only fair."

"But-"

"I'll sleep on the floor or the bathtub perhaps. It's fine. I wouldn't want my captain to feel uncomfortable."

Swallowing, Richard nodded. He started to grab his things that Dinesh and Gilfoyle had unceremoniously dropped on the floor the minute they arrived, but Jared was faster, easily balancing the boxes in his arms. It always seemed that their victories had to be immediately destroyed. Richard sighed and followed Jared down the hallway, ignoring the pain from his various scrapes. He was planning on taking Vicodin when he got home but dropped the bottle down into the gutter as they gathered up their things from the lawn of their former home. He rubbed his forehead. Ibuprofen would have to do.

As Richard was about to speak again, Jared was already there, offering him the pills and a glass of water. "Thanks, Jared," Richard said, mumbling a bit.

"Of course, I noticed that you didn't have your prescription. Did you leave it back at the house?"

"I dropped it in the gutter."

"Oh."

With a groan, Richard walked over and fell back onto the bed. He laid an arm over his eyes and sighed. It was a minor setback, but it stung and it took everything he had to not cry in frustration. He felt the bed sink slightly as Jared sat beside him and then fell back as well. Turning his head, Richard met his gaze and he smiled a bit.

"I just need a win, right now. I need something to go right and not be immediately wrecked by something else going so fucking wrong."

"Well, perhaps this is for the best?" Jared said. "You can get your own place and then-"

"I just don't want to fucking deal with this right now!"

"I understand," Jared said. "I can start looking for a new place for you to live and-"

"No," Richard cut off Jared's offer. He didn't want his obsessive-compulsive help in attempting to put his life back together. Richard swore he wouldn't be like Gavin. He swore he wouldn't use Jared in that way. "I just will get to it later. Maybe when my whole body doesn't still feel like it has fucking glass shards in it."

The bed shifted again as Jared stood. "Well, you should get some sleep, Richard. It's been a long couple of days." He took one pillow from his bed and gathered up a handful of blankets as he walked towards the bathroom. "Goodnight. I love you."

Richard made the same strangled noise he always did since Jared had started randomly professing his love for him. Looking away, Richard buried his face in his hands and desperately tried to shove away the plethora of confused feelings that came with those three words. Once the bathroom door closed, he stood and stripped down to his underwear before snuggling down into the bed. It was warm and comfortable and still smelt vaguely of Jared. It didn't help anything about the situation.

Everything at Pied Piper continued smoothly over the next few days, though Richard noticed Jared didn't seem to be sleeping well. Walking over to his desk, Richard hovered awkwardly and waited with a cup of tea in his hand. Jared was half-asleep, leaning on one hand and blinking sleepily at the monitor. Clearing his throat, Richard flinched as Jared startled and whirled to look at him with wide eyes. The surprise faded as he smiled up at Richard.

"You okay, there?" Richard asked as he offered the tea. "Uh, you seem pretty tired?"

"I'm fine," Jared said, even though Richard could easily see the exhaustion in his eyes. "Just peachy." His voice cracked a little and Richard winced. He had to do something about Jared's exhaustion. It was going to become a problem before long.

With that reasoning, when they returned home that night, Richard spun around in the bed to address Jared before he got the chance to slink off to his bathtub-bed. "The bed's pretty big," Richard said. He licked his lips and then chewed his bottom one, trying to banish his nervousness. "Uh, maybe we could just share. You're clearly not sleeping well and it's really bad for you and Pied Piper and uh I should know how sleep deprivation-"

"I would be delighted to," Jared said, eyes wide with surprise. "As long as it is alright with you. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Making the same strangled noise he did when Jared said he loved him, Richard shrugged. He shifted over in the bed. "Uh no. It's fine. It doesn't feel like I'm constantly on fire anymore so it's fine, really."

Stepping over, Jared was quick to get into bed next to Richard. The immediate increase in warmth was noticeable and also somewhat nice. Richard laid on his side, meeting Jared's glowing smile with an unsure grin. "Good night, Richard. I-"

"Night, Jared." Richard quickly rolled over before Jared could finish. His face burned with embarrassment and he desperately tried to quiet the thoughts racing around in his mind. Before he could stop himself, he spit out, "What do you mean when you say that?"

"Good night? Well, I believe it began as an exclamation of surprise in the-"

"No, not that. The other thing."

"Other thing?"

"The other thing that you say sometimes. Uh never mind, forget it."

The bed shifted and Richard peeked over his shoulder to see Jared roll over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with a contemplative look. "Do you mean when I tell you I love you?" Richard squeaked out some horrible affirming noise, unable to coherently form words. "Well, exactly what it means, silly. I mean that I love you."

"But like as a friend or-or-" Breaking off his stuttering, Richard shook his head and rolled back over. "What do you mean?"

Meeting his gaze, Jared smiled. "Oh, I see. Well, I mean that you are everything to me. You saved me from a life of misery and soulless, dreary days at Hooli. We have had some up and downs, yes, but overall you are such a good person. You inspire me and I wish to be by your side forever." With an earnest look in his eyes, Jared tilted his head just a bit and his smile widened. "That's what I mean when I tell you I love you."

"Okay," Richard said and it felt like such a heartless, lackluster response. He glanced down, feeling his stomach doing flip-flops as he nodded. "Okay. Thanks." Then, he rolled over and decided to not ever think about those three words ever again.

It shouldn't have surprised Richard when he woke up to Jared's arm wrapped tightly around his waist and his face buried in his neck. He was still asleep, muttering something in German. Richard stiffened and was about to pull away, but it felt surprisingly nice. He sunk into the embrace and smiled, nuzzling his face into Jared's hair. Richard was not used to sleeping in the same bed with someone else. The whole feeling was comforting and filled his chest with a happy warmth. He liked being held in someone else's arms, even if that someone was Jared. Squeezing his eyes shut again, Richard relaxed and amended his previous thought. He liked being held because it was by Jared.

When Jared did wake up, he either didn't notice their situation or didn't care. With a yawn, he rolled over and laid on his back, glancing up at Richard with a soft smile. "Good morning. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Anything's fine, really," Richard said and before he could continue, Jared was up, heading towards the kitchen. Swallowing and nodding, Richard slammed his head back against the pillows and sighed. He wondered what in the world he had gotten himself into.

When Richard finally got up, Jared was fully dressed and almost finished with breakfast. He walked over, hesitating at the back of the kitchen and watching as Jared flipped the pancakes. He had the sudden compulsion to walk over and hug Jared from behind like couples did in cheesy rom-com movies. Face reddening, Richard just decided to drop into a chair at the table and watch. He jumped as Dinesh and Gilfoyle filled into the kitchen, loudly arguing about some nonsensical topic. Luckily, neither of them noticed Richard's embarrassed state.

It was during lunch a few days later that Richard finally had to confront his predicament. As he ate and continued working, Dinesh and Gilfoyle strolled into his office. "Hey guys, I-"

"We found the perfect place," Dinesh said, dropping a printed out townhome ad in front of Richard. "It's just a few blocks from work and the three of us could easily pay for it."

"Uh, I don't know," Richard said as he looked at the paper. He glanced up with a sheepish smile. "I was actually kind of thinking of just continuing to stay with Jared for a while, maybe? Just until things get settled here?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Dinesh said with a roll of his eyes. "We need you in order to afford this!"

"Guess Richard's just used to getting breakfast made for him every morning," Gilfoyle said and he had an expression that Richard had learned very quickly meant trouble. "Getting his laundry done. Having his own personal slave."

"I-I don't-" Richard began to stammer out but he stopped. What was he supposed to tell them? He couldn't just say that he wanted to stay because he was used to waking up every morning in Jared's arms and the thought of sleeping alone was absolutely miserable. He swallowed and lowered his eyes. "Look, maybe I just want to get my own place and it's going to take a little while to find it."

"Uh huh," Gilfoyle said as Dinesh snatched the paper back. "Sure." As they left his office, Richard lowered his head into his hands and groaned. He needed to do something about the mess of his emotional state.

Dragging his hands down his face, Richard looked up and stared across the room to see Jared engaged in a very serious looking discussion with some of the coders. He gestured to the copying machine and back to them, speaking with what must have been an excited tone. The coders looked less than enthused and Richard felt a small spark of annoyance at them. They should have been grateful for Jared's undivided attention. That thought made Richard's face flush in embarrassment and he lowered his head again, letting it hit his desk.

 

 

 

 

After a week and a half of Richard and the others staying at Jared's condo, Jared noticed a change that pleased him immeasurably. Rather than making a horrid strangled noise and his eyes going dead when Jared told Richard he loved him, Richard started to smile back just a bit. He still didn't say it back, which Jared didn't mind. It was enough to fall asleep with an arm curling around Richard's waist and his face tucked into the space between his neck and shoulder. When Jared had first woken up in that compromising position, he had expected Richard to shove him away, but he didn't. Feeling brave, Jared tentatively assumed that position at the beginning of the night one evening. Richard didn't push him away and adjusted himself, wrapping an arm around Jared's shoulders. It became their go-to sleeping position.

The night before Gilfoyle and Dinesh planned to move out, Richard was stiff. Jared curled around him and glanced up to see him staring at the ceiling. "Would it bother you if I stayed a while longer?" Richard asked, speaking quickly. "I mean, I know I wasn't going to move out with Gilfoyle and Dinesh but-"

"You can stay as long as you want, Richard," Jared interrupted and Richard nodded, smiling a little.

"Yeah, okay. I will." That soft sentence filled Jared's chest with butterflies. He closed his eyes and sighed happily as Richard relaxed. "Unless it's a burden or me staying here is just a pain and you don't want me to anymore."

"You could never be a burden."

"Oh, okay. Okay."

Richard shifted, smoothing his hand across Jared's hair. They hadn't really spoken about what they were doing, which Jared was fine with. He could be patient and wait for Richard to come to terms with whatever he was feeling. With a small, contented sigh, Jared closed his eyes and snuggled closer.

"Good night, Richard. I love you."

"Love you too." Richard's mumbled response was so quiet that Jared wasn't sure he had heard it at first. He sat up suddenly, eyes wide in surprise and met Richard's shell-shocked expression.

"You said it back," Jared said and he thought he was about to start crying from joy.

"I uh, it was just a reflex and um well I-" Richard responded, his words mashing together as he tried to form a coherent thought. "Okay, well, yeah. I guess I did. I did say it back." He laughed, which Jared immediately recognized as nervous laughter. "So, cool. Let's go to bed." Jared was about to agree when Richard paused. He met Jared's gaze and then looked up at the ceiling, voice cracking as he asked, "Have you uh ever wanted to kiss me?"

It took all of Jared's self-control to not blurt out every single time that he had wanted to kiss Richard. He had dreamed of kissing Richard in thousands of different ways, imagining scenarios for what would have happened for each way. At TechCrunch Disrupt, Jared nearly did kiss Richard after losing his inhibitions from lack of sleep, but he settled for a tackle-hug instead. With a smile, Jared just nodded slightly, unsure whether he trusted himself to speak at the moment.

"Cool," Richard said, face turning red. "Uh, I guess I have too, recently at least?" His statement sounded more like a question. "Ugh, that was stupid. I'm sorry." Before Jared could say anything, Richard spun around, rolling over and curling into a tight ball. "Forget I said anything. It's not-"

"Richard? What's wrong? Are you-"

Jared broke off as Richard turned back, eyes wide with terror. Jared swallowed and leaned down, hesitating long enough to let Richard pull away if he wanted to. Richard did not pull away. He closed his eyes and sighed, trembling slightly as Jared kissed him. His lips were soft, even softer than Jared had always imagined they were. He pulled back slightly, opening his eyes again to check on Richard. His eyes were still squeezed tight and he leaned forward a bit when Jared pulled away.

Delighted, Jared leaned in and kissed Richard a second time, taking a risk and letting it last a bit longer. Not wanting to press his luck, Jared pulled away and laid down, curling an arm around Richard's waist and nuzzling his face into his neck. Richard said nothing, but reached up and tangled his fingers in Jared's hair, pressing his face against his head. It was warm and happy and everything Jared had ever wanted.

As usual, Jared was up before Richard. He couldn't help but hum to himself as he got ready and started breakfast. As he started stirring the eggs, he heard footsteps behind him and felt light, hesitant hands on his waist. Glancing back, Jared met Richard's uncertain gaze for a moment.

"Good morning," Jared said, though he didn't turn away from stirring the eggs. "I was just making breakfast. I thought you would enjoy-"

"We should talk," Richard said, leaning his forehead against Jared's back. He made a strangled sound before continuing quietly, "About uh last night?"

"What about it?"

Before Richard could reply, Jared heard the tell-tale sound of Dinesh and Gilfoyle's morning argument. Richard immediately pulled his hands away and leaped back like Jared had suddenly caught fire. A twinge of disappointment spread through Jared's chest, but he didn't say anything. It was clear that Richard meant to keep whatever their relationship was on the down-low. Jared was good at keeping secrets. He could manage that much.

"What's with your face?" Gilfoyle asked, eyeing Richard as he sat down and kicked his feet up on the kitchen table. "It's all blotchy."

"Nothing. My face is fine!" Richard said, voice cracking. "I just-I don't know. I-I-"

Richard broke off and rushed from the room with an expression that Jared immediately recognized as his pre-throw up face. He quickly spun, tossing the spatula at Dinesh who barely managed to catch it. Rushing into the bathroom, Jared winced as Richard puked into the toilet, kneeling on the cold tile floor. He knelt down beside Richard, gently rubbing his back.

"Sorry," Richard mumbled. "I'm such a fucking wreck. Who would ever want a wreck like me?"

"Well, I do," Jared said.

Richard raised his head and met his gaze, muttering quietly, "Don't let me ruin this, Jared."

It was obvious that Richard was nervous and Jared understood completely. He nodded, reaching over to smooth Richard's hair out of his eyes. By the time, he felt well enough to leave the bathroom, Dinesh and Gilfoyle had eaten most of the eggs. Resigned, Richard disappeared to go take a shower. He was quiet the rest of the day, working alone in his office. Jared watched with a concerned expression, constantly bringing him snacks and coffee.

"I'm fine," Richard mumbled as he chewed on his pen. "Just stressed."

"Well, in that case, I bet a massage would help, right?"

Before Richard could respond, Jared had already moved to place his hands on Richard's shoulders. He squeezed gently, working his thumbs into the knots of Richard's back. Almost immediately, Richard arched his back, pushing back into Jared's touch. He made a quiet contented noise and closed his eyes, smiling just a bit. Jared desperately wanted to kiss him, but he knew to wait.

They got home late that night and Jared hesitated, watching as Richard walked straight towards the bedroom, pulling off his pants and shirt before haphazardly tossing them aside and collapsing into bed. Jared followed more slowly and as he got into bed, Richard turned to face him, cheeks going red.

"Kiss me," Richard said, embarrassment creeping into his tone.

Jared nodded, leaning forward and pressing their lips together, cupping Richard's cheek to pull him closer. When he pulled back, Richard's eyes were still closed. He scrambled to curl a hand around the back of Jared's head and pull him into a second, much longer kiss. When they broke apart, Richard was grinning.

It continued like that for a few days. They kissed in private and fell asleep each night in each other's arms. Though, Richard seemed to be uncomfortable with something else. He averted his gaze each time Jared asked him what he wanted for breakfast or dinner or whenever he did his laundry for him. Kicking at the floor, Richard would insist that Jared didn't have to do everything for him. Even though Jared told him he didn't mind, Richard still seemed embarrassed.

Then, one morning, Jared woke up to a cold bed. He blinked, raising his head and reaching out to the spot where Richard should have been. He sucked in a sharp breath and his heart stopped. What had he done wrong? It shouldn't have come as a shock to Jared. People had left him over and over again throughout his entire life. Why would Richard be any different? Then, before Jared could think any further, he smelt smoke. Confused, he leaped out of bed and hurried towards the kitchen, which was on fire.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Richard slammed a lid over the burning pan, which smothered out that fire but failed to fix the burning cabinet problem. Jared yelped and raced over to grab his fire extinguisher, smothering the flames quickly before they could spread any further. With a sigh of relief, he glanced to Richard who looked absolutely devastated. He dropped into a chair, leaning forward on his knees as he sighed.

"I'm such a fucking idiot," he said as Jared walked over to pull up a chair beside him.

"Those cabinets can always be replaced. I even have fire insurance so you don't have to worry at all!"

"That's not-" Richard began to say, but broke off with a strangled cry. "I'm such a fucking mess. I can't even make breakfast without setting the damn kitchen on fire." Before Jared could say anything, Richard looked up with tears in his eyes. "I just wanted to do, you know, do something for you. You're always cooking me breakfast or doing my laundry or running around and getting me coffee. I just didn't-" He broke off and sighed. "I just didn't want you to feel used."

"Oh, Richard. You don't have to do that for me." Jared reached over and took his hand, squeezing lightly. "And if this is what happens when you try, then well, I'd prefer you didn't. I'm perfectly happy with taking care of you." He smiled, crinkling his nose just a bit. "You're not using me. I love you."

Glancing up, Richard smiled a bit. He shakily grabbed at Jared's wrist and tugged him closer, kissing him. "Love you too," he mumbled, burying his face in his neck. "I don't deserve you."

 

 

 

 

Only a complete idiot would not have noticed the subtle changes to Richard and Jared's relationship. Of course, Dinesh and Gilfoyle had noticed immediately. They both watched with curious stares each time Jared hurried into Richard's office, leaning close and speaking with a huge smile. They watched as he brought him various snacks and drinks, letting their fingers brush together a bit too long.

"Do you think they're fucking?" Gilfoyle asked one day, nearly making Dinesh spit out his coffee.

"Really? Jared and Richard?" Dinesh asked, peering over at the office. "Maybe? I wouldn't be surprised, I guess."

"Hm." Gilfoyle took another sip of his own coffee, watching as Jared and Richard talked, both speaking enthusiastically. "They're celebrating something."

"More funding, maybe?" Dinesh said with a shrug. "Who cares?"

Before Gilfoyle could reply, he watched as Richard leaped to his feet and reached up to grab Jared by the collar and pull him into a kiss. Immediately all sounds of typing ceased. Every single person in the room turned their eyes to the front of the room, watching as Jared effortlessly slipped his hands under Richard's thighs and lifted him up to sit on the desk. He leaned into the kiss, placing his hands on either side of Richard to balance himself.

"Holy shit," Dinesh said, eyes wide.

"They do realize we can all see them, right?" Gilfoyle asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wrapping his hands around the back of Jared's neck, Richard pulled him deeper into the kiss and then dropped his hands lower, playing with the buttons of Jared's shirt. As he started to undo them, Gilfoyle sighed. He was going to let it slide until Richard turned and began kissing Jared's neck as he leaned his head back, reaching around to hug Richard close. Annoyed, Gilfoyle rolled his eyes and reached over to snatch the hacky sac off a nearby desk. He lined up his throw and then chucked it. The hacky sac smacked into the glass wall of Richard's office with a loud thud. Immediately, both Richard and Jared broke apart, glancing towards the others.

One of the coders let out a raucous cheer, followed by more condescending cheers and whistles. Richard paled, slipping off his desk and scrambling towards the nearest trash can. Jared followed him, dropping to his knees to rub his back as Richard threw up. The cheers died down as everyone returned to work. Though the aborted make out session between Pied Piper's CEO and Head of Business Development would likely be the subject of gossip for at least a few days.  

"Idiots," Gilfoyle said with a small shake of his head.               

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for any kudos or comments!


End file.
